Appendix A
Statement of Task
An ad hoc committee of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine will review U.S. capabilities for detection, verification, and monitoring of nuclear weapons and fissile material and make recommendations for improving these capabilities.
Specifically, the review will assess and evaluate:
- the current national research enterprise for detection, verification, and monitoring of nuclear weapons and fissile material
- the integration of roles, responsibilities, and planning for such detection, verification, and monitoring within the federal government.
And identify opportunities:
- to leverage the national research enterprise to further prevent the proliferation of nuclear weapons and fissile material, including with respect to policy, research and development, and testing and evaluation
- for international engagement for building cooperation and transparency, including bilateral and multilateral efforts, to improve inspections, detection, and monitoring of nuclear weapons and fissile material, and to create incentives for such cooperation and transparency
- for new or expanded research and development efforts to improve detection and monitoring of, and in-field inspection and analysis capabilities with respect to, nuclear weapons and fissile material
- for improved coordination between departments and agencies of the federal government and the military departments, national laboratories, commercial industry, and academia
- for leveraging commercial capabilities.
The committee will provide a peer-reviewed assessment containing findings and recommendations, a restricted, peer-reviewed assessment containing findings and recommendations, and a public summary of the restricted report.